The festive period is always the busiest time of the year for those in showbiz; they usually call it their “season”. It inadvertently is also the period where show promoters and event organizers get into scuffles and lock their horns with entertainers over breach of performance contract by the entertainers which usually goes in the form of the promoter engaging and paying an entertainer to come perform at an event and the entertainer failing to turn up or show up for the show over some flimsy excuses.
Since the beginning of December I have had clients who are show promoters brief me and complain about how they engaged and paid a particular entertainer and they signed an agreement of performance but after collecting money, the entertainer refused to show up.
In October, the promoters of “Warri Again”, locked their horns in a legal battle with Davido after paying Davido a whopping sum of 100,000 USD to come and perform at the event and Davido didn’t show up. The case is currently in court. Mr Jollof since yesterday has been all over social media platforms calling out entertainers he paid to perform at his event but failed to show up after calling his money.
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Sometimes when promoters or show organizers use a particular famous entertainer to headline a show and promote the show, numerous people buy tickets to the event just because that particular entertainer will be performing and when the entertainer fails to show up after the promoter has promoted that the person will the performing, the promoter is forced to refund money for tickets, the show promoter can even be sued by the attendees of the event, the promoter also loses goodwill before the public eyes; the promoter is been seen as a liar and investors may not want to deal with him again this is why it is very disastrous to every show promoter when a particular entertainer does not show up for an event after they have engaged him or her.
It sounds ridiculous when an entertainer arrogantly claims to have refunded the money back to the promoter after failing to show up for the show thinking that refunding the money will exculpate them from the legal liabilities for failing to show up for the event; they are ignorant of the fact that refunding the money is the easiest part, the goodwill and the emotional distress the promoter experienced by the disappointment still gives the promoter the legal right to commence legal action against the entertainer for damages even when the performance fee has been fully refunded.
An entertainment contract or a performance agreement is like every other business transaction contract and should be treated as such. The contract bestows responsibilities and expectations on both parties going into the contract; both the performer and the organizer or promoter and every party in the contract is expected to live up to those responsibilities as highlighted in the contract. If any of the parties fails to keep his or her own part, the aggrieved party is entitled to sue for compensation and damages.
As highlighted in all major contracts for performance, the primary responsibility the contract bestows on the entertainer or performer is for the performer to show up on time on the date of the event and perform for the duration of time which can be in minutes or hours as indicated in the contract, anything other than that, the entertainer risks getting sued for breach of contract by the show organizer.
The only two instances when an entertainer can refuse or fail to show up after being paid or after agreeing (be it in word or on paper) to be available for a show without attracting any legal consequences is when the failure on the part of the performer is facilitated by an act of God (force majeure), i.e. a reason or reasons which is beyond the control of the performer and the second instance where an entertainer may fail to show up and won’t be held to ransom is when his failure to perform or attend the show is facilitated by the show promoter or organizer; ie maybe the show was canceled or the venue, date or time was changed without adequate notification to the entertainer or that the organization structure or the necessary equipment is not in place for the performer to perform which may include lack of proper performance equipment, lack of maximum security for the entertainer etc; in this case, the entertainer has the right to even sue the promoter for compensation. In every other instance aside from these two instances, no matter what, an entertainer is expected to show up and perform his part of the contract as has been agreed otherwise he can be sued for damages by the organizers of the event.
Entertainers and performers; musicians, comedians, MCs, dancers, hypemen etc should learn to adopt the attitude of professionalism towards their craft; an entertainer being notorious for always failing to show up or showing up late after being paid is never a good tag for any person in the showbiz. Promoters on the other hand should learn to engage a lawyer to draft a proper agreement of performance contract before engaging any entertainer for service. The contract will contain clauses that will highlight the responsibilities of the entertainers and compensatory damages for the promoter if the entertainer fails to fulfil the responsibilities.
